During respiration, the anatomy, shape, tissue composition, and properties of the human airway produce airflow resistance. The nose is responsible for almost two thirds of this resistance. Most of this resistance occurs in the anterior part of the nose, known as the internal nasal valve, which acts as a flow-limiter. The external nasal valve structure also causes resistance to nasal airflow. Effective physiological normal respiration occurs over a range of airflow resistances. However, excessive resistance to airflow can result in abnormalities of respiration that can significantly affect a patient's quality of life. Poor nasal breathing and/or nasal congestion has profound effects on a person's health and quality of life, which can be measured by validated questionnaires, such as the NOSE score, as described in Stewart M G, Witsell D L, Smith T L, Weaver E M, Yueh B, and Hannley M T., “Development and Validation of the Nasal Obstruction Symptom Evaluation (NOSE) Scale,” Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2004; 130:157-63.
Inadequate nasal airflow can result from a number of conditions causing an inadequate cross-sectional area of the nasal airway in the absence of any collapse or movement of the cartilages and soft tissues of the nasal airway. A common cause of inadequate nasal airflow is deviation of the nasal septum. The nasal septum is a wall of tissue that separates the nasal cavity into two nostrils. The septum is made up of bone, hyaline cartilage, and nasal mucosa. The American Academy of Otolaryngology estimates that many as 80% of adults have a nasal septum that is slightly off center. A more severe shift away from the midline of the nose, known as a deviated septum, frequently results in difficulty breathing and can often precipitate chronic sinusitis. The most common means of correcting a deviation is partial or full removal of the nasal septum, known as a septoplasty. More than 250,000 septoplasties are performed in the United States each year. Although septoplasty can be an effective treatment, it is also quite invasive, can lead to a painful and difficult recovery, and is associated with a number of risks and potential side effects, as with any invasive surgical procedure. It is estimated that only about 10% of patients with a deviated septum will elect to have surgery, in part due to the risks and invasiveness of the procedure.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have improved methods and devices for treating a deviated septum, to help improve breathing and/or alleviate other symptoms in a patient. Ideally, such methods and devices would provide a non-surgical, minimally invasive or less invasive approach for correcting deviated septa and thus would provide patients with a less painful alternative treatment, with fewer risks and side effects and easier recovery. At least some of these objectives are addressed by the embodiments described in this application.